Friday, February 18, 2011

for all you people out there who like practical life advice, this post is for you. this post will make your life better and will save you money on future hospital bills. so all the money you are gonna save, you can just send my way. k thanks.

ready?

WHENEVER YOU "FORWARD BEND"- SUCK YOUR STOMACH IN.

what does this really mean? well, anytime you bend down to tie your shoes, anytime you are sitting at a desk kinda hunched over, anytime you wash dishes over the sink, anytime you sit on the couch to watch tv, anytime you are leaning forward AT ALL, just suck your stomach in.

this simple act protects your lower back from all kinds of problems and will give you a stronger core, which is also just a generally good thing.

my favorite instructor, robin (she taught the 2 classes my handsome and health conscious boyfriend took- YES HE GAVE IN AND CAME TO YOGA. I LOVE HIM.) talks all the time about how you can backward bend til the cows come home. BACKWARD bends are healing and fun, it's the FORWARD bends you gotta watch out for (forgive the dangling preposition, but i had to use the cliche). forward bends cause back problems, most notably lower back pain.

so now that i can not only touch my toes, but put my FULL PALMS on the floor, i feel like i can say this to all you cool kids. think about your flexibility right now: can you touch your toes? can you kneel/squat down without struggles? do you have even a little lower back pain? are your hips tight? if you are struggling even a little bit right now, think about where you will be in 20 years.

now, i am NOT telling everyone to go out and get hooked on bikram (though i will always encourage anyone who wants to!!!! yayyyy yoga!!!)--- but, you might wanna introduce some stretching into your routine. it could prevent some issues down the line.